cottrell



loo. summer I iuua,

COATING R PLASTC SUBSTITUTED FOR Missmo oer-r Examiner UNITED STATES FREDERICK W. COTTRELL, OF LO NDO MANUFACTURE OF MA PATENT OFFICE.

N, ooUsTY or niinnnns'nx, ENGLAND.

TERIAL TO FORM ARTIFICIAL IVORY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 254,280, dated February 28, 1882.

pplication filed December 22, 1861.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FREDERICK WILLIAM COTIRELL, a subject of'the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Galthorpe street, in the city of London and county of Middlesex, Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in the Manufacture of Material to Form Artificial Ivory, and applicable also as a sub- 0 stitute for horn, coral, malachite, vuleanite, in-

die-rubber, gutta-percha, and for various other purposes, (for which I have obtained Provisional Protection in Great Britain, No. 3,376, dated August 4, 1881 and I do hereby declare that 5 the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to the production or manufacture of material to form artificial ivory, and applicable also as a substithte'iifgfrlhorn, coral, malachite, vulcnnit e', India-rubber, guita- Iie rcha, and Tor various other purposes. W

In the production of collodion, gEII QQIILOJ, g yloidineand c elnlgigl ithdsliitherto been ,the custom to actupon flb ei by a mixture of sill; phuric and nitric acids, or by a mixture of s u l phuric, nitric, and muriatic acids, or by a mixture ot'simrhuriGQiiIric, and nitrous acids. The

a product is soluble only in expensive liquidssuch as sulphuric ether, nitrp benz ole, cam;

phorated solutions, or alcoh ol, in combination with hydrocarbons-and, further, it is objectionable from the dangerous condition in which it isleft.

According to my invention I produce a substance more tough and elastic than that usually manufactured by the ordinary process and soluble in alcohol alone. For this purpose I Elke fiber,1therii1 tli''statc of raw or bleached espartorass, )a )er, or the lilie t Io he action oi an athd SOIlliIOlI bttou rags, an so mi i wbichl prepare as follows: I tahesuI )huric -and this -sensiaaeritr91182.1 L 5,,

I place in a receiver. I also take nitronsacidsay of a gravity of 1429, or thereahouE-a'nd place it iii i'fethft iir'connectiou with the receiver, or in any other appliance suitable for evolving and conducting the fumes in=such a manner that the whole of the sulphuric acid (No specimens.) Patented in England August 4, 1

shall be well saturated by them. This may be effected by bringing the retort or other vessel containing the nitrous acid to elevated temperature, but not' exceeding 132 Fahrenheit. Itthe temperature be too high, nitric acid will distill over.

I usually employ twenty-five parts of a saturatedsolution of nitrous acid in nitric acid to seventy-five asser sulphnricjacid but I do not confine myself to ihese proportions but vary them according to my requirements, in some cases einployiu g twenty'pnrts of nitrous acid to eighty parts of sulphuric acid, and in other cases thirty part-56f nitrous acid to seventy parts of sulphuric acid; or I make the nitrous acid by any ofthe well-known methodssuch as dissolving copper in nitric acid and adding to the evolved gas a snfiicient supply of oxygen to convert it into nitrous acid. This gas can then be passed dircctinto the sulphuric acid.

By nitrous acid? I mean lpieroirideof nitrogen, N0,, which'is usually so t dissolved in nitric acn ,"and is known commercially as nitrous acid. This prepared acid can be used either in a cold state or ata temperature not exceedin g 95 Fahrenheit.

The fi her to be acted acid,-oue gallon of the pound of the fiberbein g convenient It is then immed allowed to stand from twenty minutes to one hour, by which time its conversion has taken place. It is afterward washed in a plentiful supply of water to free it as much as possible from the acids, after which it is immersed in a solution of borax or sui )hide of barium, or thoroughly washed in an alkaline lye, and a strong solution of the following ma erials added: alum, soda-carbonate, and silicate of soda; an ic propor ions a [have con to ca vantageous in working are sir: parts of the first, eight parts of the second, and twenty parts of the third; but- I do not confine myself to these proportions, as the solution is effectiveifvariouslycompounded. Afterbeingdried the material is fit to be treated by the solvent, either for the manufacture of solid articles or for solutions of any given substance or fluidity The solvent I prepare for the solid or rigid arupon is immersed in the prepared acid to one proportions.

iately extracted slightly and ticles is alcohol, either alone or combined with 'i h drocar the proportions of one pound of solvent to one pound of the converted fiber. Compounds to 5 match any color may be prepared. In the case of pliable articles I use from twenty to fifty per cent. of an glthat will combine with the alcohol and remain in 'the material, thereby keeping it always pliable and soft.

What I claim is- 1. In the manufacture of a material to form artificial ivory and for other uses, as above specified, the process of rendering fiber soluble in alcohol, (with or without addition of hydro- 15 carbon,) which consists in immersing such fiber in-a saturated solution of nitrous acid in sulphnric acid, substantially-as described.

2. In the manufacture of a material to form artificial ivory and for other uses, as above no specified,the process of renderingfiber soluble in alcohol, (with or without hydrocarbon',) which consists in immersing such fiber in a saturated solution of nitrous acid in sulphuric acid for a very short period, such as above 25 specified, and then slightly'pressing the fiber and allowing it to stand for from twenty minutes to an hour to complete its conversion, substantially as described.

3. In the manufacture of a material to form 0 artificial ivory and for other uses, as above n, and this I employ usually in in washing such fiber with water and then treating it with a saline solution to neutralize any 35 remaining acid and to render the treated fiber non-explosive, substantially as described.

4. In the manufacture of a material to form artificial ivory and for other uses, as above specified, the process of treating fiber that has been rendered soluble in alcohol, (with or without addition of hydroearbom) which consists in washing such fiber, then treating the same with saline solution to neutralize any remaining acid and to render it non-explosive, and afterward adding to such fiber strong solutions of alum, and of carbonate of soda and of silicate of soda, all substantially as described.

5. In the manufacture of a material to form artificial ivory and for other uses, as above specified, the process of treating fiber that has been rendered soluble in alcohol, (with or without addition of hydrocarbons,) which consists in washing such fiber, then treating the same with a saline solution, then adding strong solutions ofaluni, carbonate of soda, and of silicate of soda, and afterward drying the material and dissolving it in alcohol, either alone or com bined with hydrocarbons, substantially as described.

FRED. W'. CO'ITRELL. Witnesses:

F. J. BROUGHAM, J. G. STOKES, Clerks to 11b". ll". Lloyd Wise, Patent Agent, London. 

